Coin-controlled device.



W. P. ANDRUS.

com CONTROLLED DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, 1914.

L1 5,923w Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. P. ANDRUS.

COIN CONTROLLED DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1914.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WADDEL P. ANDRUS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

COIN-CONTROLLED DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Application filed March 3, 1914. Serial No. 822,114.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WADDEL P. ANDRUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Spring-field, lvlissouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Coin- Controlled Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to coin-controlled devices.

The main object of my invention 1s to provide an efficient device of simple construction for vending umbrellas, parasols and other articles that can be locked in a rack or display-stand, which device comprises a locking element that cannot be opened or released until after a coin of the proper denomination has been inserted in the device.

Another object is to provide a device of the character referred to which is so de signed that the coin that was inserted to enable the locking element to be moved lnto an inoperative position cannot be removed or abstracted from the device by an unauthorized person. And still another object is to provide a coin-controlled device that can be applied easily to a rack or stand containing articles displayed for sale, and wh ch comprises a strong and substantial locking element that issecurely locked in its closed or operative position by a normally locked coin-holder which can be moved only after a coin of the proper denomination has been inserted in same.

Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an umbrella-rack or display-stand equipped with coin-controlled devices for locking the umbrellas in the rack; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the rack shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view, partly broken away, of one of the coin-controlled locking devices that said rack is equipped with; Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 6-6' of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is an elevational view of my improved coincontrolled device showing the face-plate of the device removed and the coin-holder or carrier in the position it occupies after the locking element has been opened or moved into an inoperative position; Fig. 8 is a detail horizontal sectional view illustrating the construction of the key-controlled lock for the coin-carrier; Fig. 9 is a perspective vieW of the coin-carrier; and Fig.10 is a perspective view of the locking element that locks the article in the device.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates a rack or stand of any suitable de sign for holding umbrellas, parasols or other articles that are displayed for sale, rent or lease, and B designates coin-controlled devices constructed in accordance with my invention for locking the articles in said rack. All of the coin-controlled devices B are of the same construction, and each device comprises a movable locking element 1 that normally extends across a slot 2 formed in a holder 3, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to prevent the removal of the umbrella C whose center rod or handle is arranged in the slot 2 of the holder 3. The holder 3 preferably consists of a horizontally-disposed housing or hollow bracket that projects rearwardly from the base-plate 4 of the device, and the locking element 1 is preferably formed by a hook-shaped projection on a plate 5 that is reciprocatingly mounted in the holder or housing 3, said plate having a depending flange 5 as shown in Fig. 10, that lies in a vertically-disposed portion of the holder or housing 3 at the rear side of the base plate 4- of the device so as to cooperate with the means that moves the locking element 1 into and out of operative position. If desired, a transversely-disposed rib 3 can be formed on the inner side of the vertically-disposed portion of the housing 3, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so as to prevent the entire portion of the flange 5 from hearing against its housing and thus facilitate easy movement of the locking element 1. A coin-carrier D, shown in Fig. 9, is oscillatinglymounted on the base-plate 4, and is provided on its rear side with a stud or projection 6 that projects through a curved slot P in the base plate and enters a vertically-disposed elongated slot 6 in the flange of the plate 5 which carries the locking element 1, the stud con stituting an actuating device to shift said locking element into and out of operative position when the coin-carrier is turned by means of a handle 7 thatprojects forwardly from the front side of same.

A face-plate 8, that is detachably connected to the base plate 4 of the device, acts as a housing for a plurality of devices that normally look the coin-carrier D in such a position that it cannot be moved and also for a key-controlled lock that locks the coincarrier after it has been moved to open the locking element, thereby effectively preventing an unauthorized person from removing the coin that was deposited in the carrler preparatory to shifting the locking element 1 into inoperative position. The face-plate 8 is provided with an opening through which the handle 7 of the coin-carrier projects, and at the upper edge of said faceplate is a slot 8" through which a coin can be slipped into the coin-carrier D, said coincarrier preferably consisting of a hollow disk-shaped member provided with a pocket of approximately the same diameter as that of the coin which the device is designed for. The coin-carrier D may be formed in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, the carrier herein shown consisting of two disk-shaped plates arranged on opposite sides of a spacing device 9 that isprovided with a substantially U-shaped pocket, as shown in Fig. 7, said plates and spacer being permanently connected together by rivets or in any other suitable manner.

On the rear side of the coin-carrier is a boss 10, as shown in Fig. 9, that fits in an opening in the base plate 4 and thus supports the coin-carrier on the base plate, and the face plate 8 of the device is so proportioned that the coin-carrier cannot move away from the base plate although it can be rotarily oscillated with relation to the base plate. An opening 11 that is formed in the front side of the coin-carrier D exposes the coin to view and permits said coin to be engaged and moved into a certain position by the authorized person whose duty it is to remove the coin from the device, as hereinafter described.

lVhen the coin-carrier D is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 4:, the locking element 1 will extend across the slot 2 in the holder 3 and the coin receiving pocket in the carrier will be in alinement with the coin slot 8 in the face plate 8. At this time the coin-carrier D is held securely locked by means arranged inside of the face plate, which means is so designed that it'will be rendered inoperative by the insertion of a coin in the carrier D. Various means may be employed for locking the coin-carrier in its normal position, and while I have herein illustrated a locking means that I have found particularly welladapted for this purpose I do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to a means of the exact construction herein illustrated for normally locking the coin-carrier. The means that I prefer to employ for locking the coin-carrier consists of a plurality of spring-pressed plungers 12 that are reciprocatingly mounted in guides 13 on the face plate 4:, and which are so arranged that the inner ends of same will normally project into notches 14 formed in the periphery of the coin-carrier D when said carrier is in its normal position for locking the article displayed for sale in the device. When a coin m of the proper denomination is inserted in the carrier the edge of said coin will strike ejector-pins 15 in the coin-carrier and move said pins outwardly or radially, thereby causing the looking plungers 12 to be disengaged from the coin-carrier. A coin of smaller diameter than the coin for which the device is designed cannot be used for unlocking the coin-carrier owing to the fact that such a coin would not move the ejector-pins 15 outwardly sufliciently to disengage the looking plungers or holding means from the coin-carrier; nor could a coin of greater diameter than that of the coin for which the device is designed be used to unlock the carrier owing to the fact that such a coin would be too large to-enter the carrier. After the coin-carrier has been unlocked by the insertion therein of a coin of the proper denomination the coin-carrier D can be rotated to the left into the position shown in Fig. 7 and also to the right of Fig. 1, thereby causing the locking element 1 to be opened or moved into its operative position, as shown at the right of Fig. 3, and thus permitting the umbrella or other article to be removed from the holder 3 of the device. lVhen the coin-carrier reaches the position shown in Fig. 7 a key-controlled lock E moves into engagement with a notch or shoulder 16 on the coin-carrier and thus effectively locks said carrier in such a position that an unauthorized person cannot turn it back to its normal position and remove the coin therefrom. The coin-carrier is also locked at this time by one of the springpressed locking plungers 12 which springs into the notch 14 at the bottom of the carrier as soon as the carrier reaches the position shown in Fig. 7 wherein it will be seen there is no pressure exerted on the coin in the direction indicated by the arrow y in said figure, or in opposition to the spring-pressed plunger 12 which is in alinement with the notch at the bottom of the coin-carrier.

The key-controlled lock E herein shown is only one of many types that may be suc-- cessfully used for locking the coin-carrier in such a position that an unauthorized person cannot remove the coin therefrom, said lock consisting of a reciprocating bolt that is arranged between two guides or studs 17 on the base plate, and provided with an elongated slot through which a stationary guide 18 projects, as shown clearly in Fig. 7, a coiled expansionspring 19 being mounted in said slot between the guide 18 and one end of the slot so as to normally force the lock E toward the coin-carrier. A key, opening 20 is formed inthe face plate 8 for receiving a key 21 that is provided with an arm 21 which is adapted to engage a notch 22 in the lock E and move said lock outwardly against the force of the spring 19 so as to withdraw it from engagement with the coin-carrier. A pair of dogs 23 that are pivotally mounted on the stationary guide stud 18, on opposite sides of the lock E, serve to prevent said look from being actuated by akey of usual, form or a hookshaped instrument which might be inserted in the keyhole and moved into engagement with the notch 22 in the lock E. When the lock E is inoperative the dogs 23 occupy the position shown in Fig. 4:, said dogs being held in this. position by means of a projection 24 on the lock E that fitsin openended slots 25 in said dogs. When the lock E moves into engagement with the shoulder 16 on the coincarrier, as shown in Fig. 7, the projection 24 moves out of engagement with the open-ended slots 25 in said dogs and thus permits said dogs to swing downwardly under the influence of leaf-springs 26 into the position shown in Fig. 7. It will now be impossible to retract the lock E or, move it into an inoperative position without first restoring the dogs 23, owing to the fact that the projection 24 on the lock E bears against shoulders or notches 27' in the dogs 23, it being remembered that said dogs are pivotally mounted on the guide-stud 18 and cannot move longitudinally in the direction that the lock E is capable of moving. The key 21 is provided with portions 21 which are so disposed that they will engage the dogs 23 and move them upwardly far enough to carry the shoulders 27 thereon out of-engagement with the projection 2&1 on the lock E, thus permitting the part 21 of the key to enter the notch 22 in the lock E and move said lock outwardly or away from the coin-carrier when the key is turned; Even after the lock E has been moved out of engagement with the coincarrier, said oarriercannot be restored to its normal position until after the locking plunger 12, which fits in the notch in the lower end of the carrier, has been moved outwardly, this being efiected by moving the coin laterally in the direction indicated the arrow 3 in Fig. 7, which is accomplished by inserting a finger through the. opening 11 formed in the front side of the coincarrier D. It will thus be seen that in my improved device the coin-carrier is not only locked by a key-controlled locking element,

but said carrier also locked by another device, namely, one of the plungers 12, which can only be disengaged or rendered inoperative by moving the coin with relation to the carrier. Therefore, even if a person should succeed in disengaging the lock E from the coin-carrier the carrier could not be restored to its normal position unless the person was familiar with the device and knew of the auxiliary locking means which can only be rendered inoperative by moving the coin with relation to the carrier in a certain direction.

a The coin-carrier is preferably provided with a notch 16 arranged adjacent the shoulder 16 which the lock E engages so as to insure a full stroke of the coin-carrier; or, in other words, prevent said carrier from being moved far enough to permit the umbrella to be removed from the holder 3 and then returned to its normal position and the coin removed therefrom, for when the coin-carrier moves far enough to shift the locking element partly across the slot 2 the key-controlled lock E engages the notch 16 in the carrier and thus effectively prevents the carrier from being restored to its former position. The locking plunger 12 which is positioned opposite the open end of the coin pocket in the carrier D when said carrier is in the position shown in Fig. 7, is provided with a notch 28 for receiving a stationary stop-pin 29, as shown in Fig. 6, so as to prevent said plunger from jumping out of its guide 13 when the peripheral edge of the carrier moves out of engagement with said plunger.

A coin-controlled device of the construction above-described can be used successfully for locking umbrellas, parasols and other articles that are displayed for sale, rent or lease in racks or stands, owing to the fact that it comprises a strong and serviceable locking element which can be unlocked or moved into an inoperative position only after a coin of the proper denomination has been inserted in the device; the device is so constructed that there is very little liability of a thief extracting a coin that has been deposited in the device for the device not only comprises a key-controlled lock for the coin-carrier but also a secret locking means which can only be rendered inoperative by a person familiar with the device; the device comprises comparatively few parts; it is compact and presents a neat and ornamental appearance, and it can be applied easily to an umbrella-rack, or stand designed for holding other articles.

Having thus. described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: p

1. A coin controlled vending device comprising locking element, an oscillatory coin receiver capable of rotary movement for controlling said locking element, means for imparting a rotary movement to the coin-receiver after a coin has been deposited in same and radially slidable locking means for said coin carrier which is released only by a coin of the proper denomination when operative, radially slidable means arranged around the periphery of said coin carrier and independent thereof for normally locking said coin-carrier against movement, and means operated by the insertion of a coin of the proper denomination completely into the carrier to actuate said peripheral locking means and thereby release said carrier.

3. A coin controlled device comprising a locking element for retaining an article that is olfered for sale or rent, a casing, a movable coin-carrier within said casing for controlling said locking element, locking means carried by said casing and normally retaining said coin-carrier against movement, and means carried by said coin-carrier for releasing said locking means when a coin of the proper denomination is completely inserted in the carrier to release the latter.

4. A coin-controlled vending device comprising a locking element, rotary holding means for preventing said locking element from being opened or moved into an inoperative position until after a coin of the proper denomination has been introduced into the device, an actuating device carried by said rotary means to move said locking element when said means is rotated, and

means independent of said holding means actuated by said coin when completely inserted in the holding means to release said holding means.

5. A coinecontrolled device comprising a locking element for retaining an article that is offered for sale or rent, a casing, a movable coin-carrier for rendering said locking element inoperative, locking means carried by said casing and normally retaining said coin-carrier against movement, and means movable with said carrier which is actuated by a coin of the proper size when completely inserted in the carrier for releasing said locking means to permit the operation of the coin-carrier.

6. In a coin-controlled device, a locking element, a rotary coin-receiver and carrier, a locking device independent of the carrier for locking the same, means actuated by a coin when completely inserted in the carrier for releasing said locking device, and an actuating device carried by said rotary carrier to move said locking element when said carrier is rotated.

7. In a coin-controlled device, a locking element, a rotary coin-receiver and carrier, a locking device independent of the carrier for locking the same, means actuatedby the edge of a coin when completely inserted in the carrier for releasing said locking device, and an actuating device carried by said rotary carrier to move said locking element when. said carrier is rotated.

8. In a coin-controlled device, a locking element, a rotary coin-carrier provided with apocket for receiving a coin, a springpressed locking device that cooperates with a notch in the periphery of said carrier to lock it, means actuated by the edge of a coin when completely inserted in the car rier for releasing said locking device, and an actuating device carried by said rotary carrier to move said locking element when said carrier is rotated.

9. A coin-controlled device provided with a locking element for securing the article with which the device is used, acom-carrier, locking means therefor, said locking means being released by a coin when inserted in the carrier, a key-controlled lock for looking said carrier in its moved position, and an independent secret locking means for said carrier which can only be rendered inoperative by moving the coin in a certain key-controlled lock for the carrier which prevents an unauthorized person from moving the carrier into such a position that the coin can be removed therefrom.

.11. A coin-controlled vending device-comprising a holder, a reciprocating locking element in said holder, an oscillating coin-carrier for moving said locking element into an inoperative position, said'carrier having a peripheral recess'and also provided with a coin-receiving recess, a spring-pressed locking device adapted to project into said peripheral recess and to hold said coin-carrier in position to receive a coin, a key-controlled lock in said housing that engages said carrier after it has been removed and looks it in such a position that the coin that is inserted in the carrier cannot be removed therefrom, said carrier and housing having openings which expose the coin to view, and a handle on said coin-carrier for actuating the same.

12. A coin-controlled vending device comprising a housing, an oscillating coin-carrier in said housing provided with a coin-receiv-.

handle on said carrier that projects through an opening in said housing, spring-pressed plungers in the housing that normally engage said notches in said carrier and hold it in position to receive a coin, means for rendering said plungers inoperative when a coin of the proper size is completely inserted in the carrier, said carrier being so designed that one of said plungers serves to lock same after the carrier has been moved from its normalposition,means for enabling a coin to be moved with relation to the carrier so as to render said locking plunger inoperative, and a key-controlled lock in the housing that automatically locks the carrier after it has been turned to open the locking element of said holder.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 23rd day of February, 1914:.

WADDEL P. ANDRUS.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. MILLER, GEORGE E. MARSH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 1,150,923.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent N 0. 1,150,923, granted August 24,

1915, upon the application of Waddel P. Andrus, of Springfield, Missouri, for an improvement in Coin-Controlled Devices, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 4, line 120, claim 11, for the Word removed read moved; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the casein the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of September, A. D., 1915.

[sEAL.] J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

